What does echinococcus mean?
Echinococcus is the scientific name of a genus of very small tapeworms that live as adults in the intestines of dogs and other canids. Though the adult worms measure only a few millimetres, their microscopic eggs are far more dangerous: if swallowed by a human, sheep, or other intermediate host, they hatch into larvae that form slow-growing hydatid cysts, most often in the liver or lungs. This condition, known as hydatid disease or echinococcosis, can remain silent for years before producing symptoms. The best-known species is Echinococcus granulosus. The word belongs chiefly to medical, veterinary, and public-health contexts, appearing in discussions of livestock farming, dog deworming programmes, and surgical treatment of cysts. Because it is both a precise taxonomic label and the name of a serious zoonotic pathogen, echinococcus is an important term for anyone reading about parasitic disease.
nounA genus of small tapeworms of the family Taeniidae, whose larval stage causes hydatid disease (echinococcosis) in humans and other mammals. It also refers, more loosely, to any individual worm of this genus.
- A genus of small cyclophyllid tapeworms (family Taeniidae) whose larvae form hydatid cysts in humans and other intermediate hosts.
- Any individual tapeworm belonging to this genus; the causative agent of echinococcosis (hydatid disease).
"The surgeon suspected echinococcus infection after the imaging revealed a fluid-filled cyst in the patient's liver."
"Dogs harbouring adult Echinococcus worms shed eggs that can infect sheep and, occasionally, humans."
"Public health campaigns in pastoral regions focus on deworming farm dogs to break the Echinococcus transmission cycle."
Follows the Latin pluralisation of '-us' nouns; used when referring to multiple individual worms rather than the genus as a whole.
"Microscopic examination revealed numerous echinococci in the intestinal contents."
The tiny Echinococcus tapeworm — just a few millimetres long as an adult — can grow into hydatid cysts the size of a football inside a human liver.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of echinococcus
Echinococcus derives from New Latin, formed from the Greek roots 'ekhinos' meaning hedgehog or sea urchin (hence 'spiny') and 'kokkos' meaning berry or grain, referring to the appearance of the worm's segmented body. The same Greek element ekhin- appears in words such as echidna, echinoderm, and echolocation, while kokkos underlies terms like coccus in bacteriology. The name was coined in the early nineteenth century as parasitologists began formally classifying tapeworm genera.
Related word forms
How echinococcus is actually used
A technical term used mainly in medicine, veterinary science, and parasitology; it is rare in everyday speech. When referring to the organism formally it is capitalised and italicised as a genus name (Echinococcus); when used generically for the parasite or the disease context, lowercase is common.
Easily confused with echinococcus
Echinoderms are marine animals such as starfish and sea urchins with spiny skin, whereas Echinococcus is a genus of parasitic tapeworms.
Enterococcus is a genus of bacteria found in the gut that can cause infections, while Echinococcus is a parasitic flatworm (tapeworm).